Shade vs Rio [NDE]

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

[This is a fight between the Quinta Espada, Rio Demoniogalgo, and Squad 3's lieutenant Shade Kawada. The battle will take place at night in an open grassy plain, with several rolling hills, and little other terrain]

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - 400 (700) Points
Speed - 200 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 (200)Points
Reiatsu Strength - 300 Points
Light Aura - 0 Points
Dark Aura - 100 Points
Instinct - 200 Points
Senses 150 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1700

What was he doing out here? Seriously. Rio had no idea. He wasn't entirely sure why he was here on this plain. He kicked at a little tuft of grass in frustration. Really? He couldn't have followed a reiatsu here, that was unlikely given his poor ability to sense reiatsu. Even senses weren't a great excuse as your senses would have to be truly ridiculous to pick up a scent from across dimensions. So... yeah. Not entirely sure why Rio was here.

But he was. The Quinta Espada had arrived in the human world, and was, by the look of complete boredom on his face, less than amused with how things were going. Uh oh. That was never a good sign. At all. In fact, seeing Rio Demoniogalgo's face like that meant one of two things. That someone was about to die. Or that someone was about to lose their house. And then die. Not necessarily in that order.

[Shade Kawada]

Shade stepped out of a Senkaimon and into a dark, grassy plain. Unlike Rio, Shade was good at tracking his targets and he’d been searching for Rio’s reiatsu signature ever since the espada had invaded Seireitei all those months ago. Luckily he’d compiled quite a list of what this particular arrancar was capable of, having experienced his shockwave firsthand last time and thrown aside so easily. The shinigami had improved exponentially since their last meeting and had even received a promotion from the late Captain Nami Ketsueki. He’d purchased various cursed weapons and even a few neat gadgets that would hopefully give him the edge in the fight that was to come. Could a vice-captain hope to take on the Quinta espada? If any lieutenant could then it was Shade Kawada, the youngest seated shinigami in Soul Society and the most promising prodigy that Seireitei had seen in the last century.

Shade emerged a few hundred feet to the espada’s left and Rio would likely take notice of the shinigami. The soul reaper proudly displayed his lieutenant’s armband, which he wore around his bicep over his trench coat reminiscent of how Nazi SS officers wore their swastika armbands over their jackets. “Arrancar...” said the shinigami, getting Rio’s attention if he hadn’t already, “I cannot allow imperfections like you to contaminate this world... Stand down and let yourself be cleansed by my blade...” Shade unsheathed Buraindo Kira as it bled onto the ground below him. Shade’s zanpakutou was a quaint one. The zanpakutou spirit was probably the most bloodthirsty in all of Soul Society and all of its bloodlust manifested itself as a blood-like substance that leaked out of the very metal itself and fell to the ground. Because of this Shade’s sheath needed a tiny hole in the bottom to allow the blood to fall onto the ground in drips that followed him wherever he went.

Rio would likely not remember Shade from their first encounter. The shinigami was a third seat at the time and was taken care of without Rio even needing to pay direct attention to him. Shade was confident that he now possessed the power necessary to stand toe to toe against even the Quinta. He didn’t need bankai for he had a weapon greater than any bankai. Shade possessed his mind, his analytical brain that could solve any problem no matter how difficult. Any advantage that the espada possessed in sword skill would easily be picked apart for weaknesses and taken advantage of by the genius of Soul Society. And if Rio’s sword style was indeed superior to anything Shade could do, then he’d simply take the factors that made it better and implement them into his own fighting style. It was all child’s play for the lieutenant. So Shade stood, staring at Rio in the darkness, daring him to make a move.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [150 (x2)] = 300 Points

Speed - [200] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [150] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [250] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [100] Points

Senses [200] Points

Energy sensory - [50 (x3)] = 150 Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1,100] Points

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Indeed, Rio would not remember Shade. Even had they fought face to face, as opposed to Shade having been defeated by Rio's shockwave, he likely wouldn't have. To Rio, all shinigami were the same and only captains were worth remembering. Hell, aside from Benkei, he had forgotten the face of virtually every shinigami that he had fought in that battle. They were worms, not worth remembering. Rio had fought hundreds like them before, and expected he would fight hundreds more before the end of his life.

But he gave a broad grin at the sight and smell of Shade. "Imperfections... heh. The irony's fuckin' priceless shinigami." Rio remarked, advancing on Shade. Seeing Shade's weapon drawn, Rio merely scoffed, not even bothering to draw even one of the Sai at his side. It wasn't worth it. He clearly wasn't dealing with a captain here, though he picked out the lieutenant's armband. So, here was some cocky new lieutenant that thought just 'cause he got a promotion he could take on one of the strongest Arrancar alive? Fuckin' hell. Little bitches like Magnus and Cierro must be killing the reputation of the Espada if a worm like this thinks he has any chance of taking one of us."[/i] Rio thought angrily, his eyes darkening.

"Well, hurry it up shinigami. You wanna "cleanse" me? Better hurry up and try. You better not bore me." Rio warned irritably, cracking his knuckles. He was irritated alright. Irritated and bored, and he doubted Shade would help him with that. But hell, he was getting the chance to pummel a shinigami. That was something Rio couldn't pass up at all. His hatred for shinigami was strong indeed. For Shade's sake, he hoped he could back up his talk and thoughts, or the lieutenant was in for one hell of a fight.

[Shade Kawada]

Shade faced his opponent without a look of fear or even aggression in his eyes. The lieutenant could only be described as blank and without feeling. “Imperfections... heh. The irony’s fuckin’ priceless shinigami,” said Rio as he began walking towards the soul reaper, “Well, hurry it up shinigami. You wanna “cleanse” me? Better hurry up and try. You better not bore me.” If there was one thing that the shinigami knew, it was what this particular espada was capable of. He needed to make sure he was eliminated before he got the chance to release. The soul reaper took his blade to his finger and cut the tip of his index finger on his sharp zanpakutou. “Drink... Buraindo Kira...” said the lieutenant as he slid his bloody finger across the flat portion of his zanpakutou. Before Rio, Shade’s sword would grow a mouth and begin to vomit a mess of blood, tendons, organs, and a fleshy substance that covered and surrounded the blade and transformed his katana into his heavy shikai with a mouth, gnashing at the arrancar.

Shade decided that enough time had been wasted and in an instant he burst in an impressive dash directly at the espada with his right hand gripping his sword and his left hand tucked inside his jacket. Rio might expect some sort of hidden weapon. Either way, Shade had witnessed Rio’s ability to produce shockwaves before and had fallen victim to a particularly nasty one in their previous encounter. He had recalled that fight almost every day since it happened and had played thousands of simulations over in his mind and he’d come up with a few different strategies to use against such a defense. It was time to see what the limits to the Quinta’s abilities were and perhaps see what information he could extract from this arrancar.

Shade approached Rio quickly while keeping his eyes on the arrancar arms in case he did something. He was sure that he’d become strong enough to avoid the events of last time and knew that Buraindo Kira was now capable of withstanding Rio’s main method of attack. The lieutenant’s eyes were kept peeled as he closed the distance between him and Rio, ready to react at a moment’s notice. He wouldn’t do anything yet, but simply remained ready to react to whatever the espada threw his way. What would Rio do? What would Shade’s reaction be? It was all up to the Quinta to decide what happened next.

Shikai: 1 / 10
Reiatsu: 1,300

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Rio didn't so much as flinch when Shade charged towards him. Keeping his eyes on Rio's arms might have been a mistake, as arrancar were not limited to using their limbs to attack. Rio was able to notice the focus of his eyes, and smirked a little. Well, let's just see how much of your talk you can back up![/i] Rio thought, opening his mouth. In an instant, a green flash of reiatsu erupted from his mouth, hurtling at Shade. It was a large ball of tightly condensed, green reiatsu, considerably large (though certainly no comparison to Kuroi's). Also known as a Bala.

Rio's reiatsu strength didn't exceed Shade's by all that much, but nonetheless, taking a direct hit from his Bala wouldn't tickle, and likely cause some decent damage. Feh. Wonder if this shinigami's so pathetic as to be beaten without me literally having to move a finger. Rio thought. Although Rio was characteristically an offensive and aggressive fighter, firmly believing in the philosophy that the best defense was a strong offense, he didn't even think it was necessary. Shade would have to earn the right to beholding the furious offensive that Rio was capable of producing. The Espada wore a great savage grin across his face.

"Come on! Hurry it up! You can't possibly think you're gonna kill me without taking a swing, do ya? Unless you think you can kill me out of sheer boredom! If that's your goal, shinigami then you're well on your way!" Rio taunted the irritation still clear in his voice. He had noticed a complete lack of killing intent in Shade's charge. It hadn't been meant to hurt him, merely draw him into attacking. Well. He'd gotten his wish in the lightning fast Bala attack. It was up to Shade if he could defend against it. Rio didn't give away things for free, unless he was certain his opponent deserved it. In Rio's eyes, Shade deserved no such honor. Yet, anyways.

Reiatsu remaining: 1950

[Shade Kawada]

Just because Shade was focusing on Rio’s arms wouldn’t mean that the bright red orb bring fired from the espada’s mouth would escape his attention. The lieutenant was well-acquainted with bala and shifted his body to avoid the attack as it closed in on him. The bala flew right by him, exploding on the ground behind him as the vice-captain reached within striking distance for his shikai. “Come on! Hurry it up! You can't possibly think you're gonna kill me without taking a swing, do ya? Unless you think you can kill me out of sheer boredom! If that's your goal, shinigami then you're well on your way!” said the espada. With a mighty heave, Buraindo Kira’s immense form came screeching horizontally threatening to cleave the espada in two. The soul reaper did all this with one hand while his left hand remained nestled within the confines of his cloak, seemingly preparing some sort of backup just in case his initial attack failed to work.

Shade was a cautious fighter and wasn’t one to rush into combat without multiple backup plans and a solid strategy, however right now it would appear that he was fighting like a barbarian. The lieutenant was a brave one and proved his confidence as he chose a head-on attack against Rio as his opening move. Surely the confident espada wouldn’t suspect any sort of trickery would work on him. Perhaps he didn’t even believe the soul reaper had something up his sleeve. Either way, Shade’s attack would be delivered with his full strength and focus as he prepared to counter against the expected result. If he was correct in his hypothesis, then he’d found the weakness in the espada’s fighting style which he’d demonstrated during his attack on Heuco Mundo.

“Tch...” he grunted as he delivered the swing with Buraindo Kira. Shade hoped that he was able to cut Rio. Unfortunately he hadn’t gotten a chance before to test his blade against the espada’s hierro, but the vice-captain was certain that even if he couldn’t cut him under normal circumstances, he could cut him by using his coating ring which he’d bought recently. Even though the lieutenant put plenty of strength into his swing didn’t mean that he completely sold himself on it. The vice-captain never put all his eggs in one basket and wasn’t expecting everything to go too smoothly.

Shikai: 2 / 10
Reiatsu: 1,300

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Hmph. The shinigami was finally in striking range! This time, Rio saw him heave his large blade aloft and swung it at him. Such a large blade doubtlessly required considerable commitment to the swing. Rio smirked at that. Well, at least the shinigami was making a move. Unfortunately, physical attacks would have a very difficult time landing against the fifth Espada! However it appeared that wasn't the only purpose behind Shade's attack. As the lieutenant swung his massive blade, Rio saw his free hand slip into his cloak. Indeed, this must have been a very committed swing to attack with that massive blade in only one hand!

Regardless, however of how much commitment or lack thereof, Shade's attack wasn't going to work. As his stroke coursed through the air at Rio, he would feel a massive surge of resistance surge up, smashing his blade off course, deflecting it away from Rio. At the same instant, Shade would likely feel a similar burst of force hitting his front and shoving him away from Rio quite forcefully. What Shade would have just experienced, was another variant of Rio's shockwaves. He had seen what Rio was capable of in his released form... oh yes. He had felt it firsthand. However, he had likely missed this particular ability, as Rio had only used it briefly in his mid-Sonido/Shunpo exchange with Benkei, moving too quickly for Shade to feasibly observe. Rio's shockwaves were indeed a formidable offense, but in his sealed form, he could unleash a weaker form of them from his body with as little as the sudden tension of his muscles. And that's what he had done here. Unleashing a shockwave from his entire body to deflect Shade's attack and force the Lieutenant backwards with speed comparable to an arrancar's bala, but visible only as violent shimmers in the air. Unlike his "focused" shockwaves, which had considerable range and power, his unfocused shockwaves had a maximum range of only five feet, and only half the power (ie. hitting with a stat of 350).

Still, that would be more than enough to knock Shade's intended attack off course, and knock the Lieutenant back, possibly even off balance. If the latter, then he was in trouble indeed, for Rio immediately followed up his shockwave by violently thrusting his palm forwards. This time the Espada launched a focused shockwave at the lieutenant. Roughly two feet in diameter, being hit by this would be akin to being struck by one of Rio's own punches (admittedly dispersed over a larger radius-- which would potentially save Shade from serious injury were he hit by it). Nonetheless, it would be extremely dangerous for Shade to simply assume he could take the blow.

Fortunately for Shade, he would actually be able to make out the shockwave, his senses high enough to notice the violent movement of the air as the shockwave hurtled towards him just as quickly as Rio's last two attacks-- though considerably more deadly. And Rio wasn't even finished! As he launched his focused shockwave with one hand, a green orb began to form in the other! Rio was charging up a Cero! However, he had not yet launched it, merely charging the devastating reiatsu attack.

Reiatsu: 1950 (Will take out the Cero's cost on the post he launches it)

[Shade Kawada]

Just as Shade had considered as a possibility, his zanpakutou met a force of air that not only halted his shikai, but sent him flying backwards. This was a result of a variant of the shockwaves that Rio was capable of using and for a split second, everything that surrounded the espada was blown backwards. But what about after that? What about the split second after Rio had let off a shockwave? This was the hole in Rio’s fighting style that the lieutenant had considered ever since the one night he was on the receiving end of Rio’s shockwaves. “NOW!” thought the shinigami as he was flung backwards. The force of Rio’s shockwaves would not do much damage per se for one main reason. The blunt force was dispersed evenly over Shade’s entire form instead of concentrated on one point. It was definitely a strike that the lieutenant could take and continue fighting.

As Shade flew backwards his hand exited the confines of his cloak holding what appeared to be a grenade that had been painted black with its pin pulled. Rio’s palm thrust forwards, but it was too late. Shade had thrown the grenade immediately upon being hit and it was now directly in front of Rio’s face, much too close to be affected by the second shockwave. Rio’s second attack was quickly dodged by the lieutenant, who quickly clamped his eyes shut, as soon as he regained his footing. If there was one surefire way to gauge where these shockwaves were, it was watching the espada’s hands. However, Shade’s senses were attuned enough to see the air itself being bent as the force approached him. This was it. This was how the shinigami would deal with the espada’s primary offense. The Quinta couldn’t fire shockwaves off in quick enough succession, and the lieutenant would just need to focus on keeping the offense up. Whether or not the espada reacted, the grenade detonated at the very moment before it would hit Rio’s face into a loud BOOM! However, this particular explosion would not hurt Rio in the slightest, for Shade had thrown none other then a flashbang grenade.

For a split second the whole area lit up in a blinding light and a deafening noise. The espada’s senses would be completely and utterly fried for more than a few seconds, for surely he wasn’t expecting a flashbang grenade, and even if he was, it was instinct to keep one’s eyes on incoming threats. It was nighttime and such a bright light would affect him much worse than if he’d taken such a blow during the day time. Shade, noticing that the flashbang had gone off, opened his eyes and noticed the cero, but such an attack would not matter if he wasn’t able to even aim it. It was imperative that Shade took advantage of this opportunity. In an instant the lieutenant used a shunpo to transport himself directly above the espada, and with expert precision and silence he swung downwards, directly at the arm that was charging the cero. If Rio so much as lifted the arm to aim it upwards in response to any noise that the shinigami made, he’d be thrusting his arm directly into the path of Shade’s swing.


Shikai: 3 / 10
Reiatsu: 1,250

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Shade was correct in that Rio could not release multiple shockwaves repeatedly. He had to wait a few moments between each one to regather his strength for the next one. Indeed, a process that didn't take much time, but, if timed properly, could indeed allow someone to get in a strike. However, things wouldn't work out quite as well as Shade was hoping they would with his grenade trick. Rio had kept his eyes on the arm inside his shinigami robes, and noticed the grenade when it was pulled out. That's it? Rio thought with a mental smirk. A bomb? This shinigami was deluded if he thought that'd work!

Shade would presumeably have thrown the grenade after being pushed outside of the unfocused shockwave's five foot range, roughly simultaneously with Rio's focused shockwave (else he'd have merely thrown it right into the first shockwave, and had it go off in his face). The distance between them gave Rio just enough time to raise his free arm up in front of his face, stepping back as much as he could. He didn't fear the blast of the grenade, he prided himself on his ability to take punishment. In any case, he doubted a grenade could penetrate his Hierro. Rio's concern was that grenades tended to go off in explosions. And explosions tended to be bright. Plus, while Rio's Hierro guarded most of his body, his eyes were unprotected, and a blast could still damage them. Therefore, they were the only things he needed to protect. He also knew he was safe from attack from the shinigami for a split second. He wouldn't rush into his own bomb afterall. Using his arm to shield his face and closing his eyes, Rio braced for the blast.

He hadn't expected what had actually happened though. The blast was LOUD, and even behind his arm and closed eyelids he could see the flare of the flashbang glare on his eye lids. No way... the little piece of trash was attacking my senses!?[/color] Rio thought in fury. If he hadn't thrown up that arm and closed his eyes he'd have likely been blinded temporarily. And while he doubted the shinigami could have hurt Rio seriously in that space of time, the simple idea of having his defense and offense compromised in that time pissed Rio off immensely. Or would have, had he not factored one small error in judgement.

(ooc: As a note, I checked this part over with Zou, and he cleared it. In fact he was the one who told me what effect this would have on the two of them).

Shade hadn’t stepped far enough back to be shielded from the effects of the flashbang. Rio’s shockwave had extended out about five feet, and since Shade hadn’t moved back after being hit, it could be assumed he was standing at about five to six feet away when he threw his flashbang. This meant that, while closing his eyes would shield him from the flash, his higher senses would mean the bang would affect him just as badly. Perhaps Shade had underestimated the effects this would have on his ears. Both of the two fighters would have their balance severely compromised from this. In fact, even standing would prove a challenge for both of them. For the sake of stability, Rio dropped down onto one knee as he opened his eyes. Defending his face had paid off it seemed. His eyes were incredibly sore, and his vision was slightly blurred, but he could make out general shapes. Despite his fury, what he saw when he opened them, though blurry made him give a short laugh. ”Are you serious shinigami? Your own attack just disabled you as well!” The flashbang had severely affected both of them, and neither of them would be so much as able to walk straight for a few seconds, let alone be able to attack. As such, Shade’s own stability would make his intended attack fail, launching a Shunpo and attacking would be far too much for someone who was having trouble even standing properly.

However, Rio didn’t have to move to attack. He was capable of attacking at long range, as well as short range, and his Cero had finished charging. Thrusting his arm forwards, an immense pillar of emerald green light blazed from his palm. It was too soon for Shade to be able to avoid it completely, but the shinigami would be saved by an error on Rio’s part as well. With the Espada’s own imbalance, and blurred vision, aiming accurately was too much for him, and as such, the Cero would only clip Shade’s left arm, thanks to its immense size. Although, even having his arm clipped by a Cero this powerful could cause catastrophic damage to it, severely hampering its use if not disabling it entirely. And with Shade unable to properly move to avoid it, this was a bad situation for Shade. As for Rio, his vision was coming back to him relatively quickly, and the strength in his legs would return about the same time that Shade's did. If nothing else, he’d be able to make out the results of his attack.

Reiatsu remaining: 1750

[Shade Kawada]

It seemed like Shade’s hypothesis had been correct as the flashbang reached Rio without much trouble. At this point Shade was a little over 10 feet away from his opponent. This was because Shade had been hit by the shockwave when he was around six feet away from Rio. He continued to travel backwards between the time he threw the grenade and the time when the grenade reached Rio. He would certainly not underestimate the espada’s shockwaves for they had forced over such a large distance in so little time. However, maximum affects were not attained due to Rio’s train of thoughts and actions. Like Shade, he too braced for the light and was in-turn saved from the temporary blinding they would have caused. However, Shade was aware of one other affect that came with the flashbang grenades he had purchased. The noise itself filled the area with a brief boom at over 160 decibels of noise. The sound did not stay around for long and it left both of Shade’s ears ringing and his head throbbing. He experienced 140 decibels of noise and with his superior hearing it was almost as bad as experiencing 160, but not quite.

As Rio fell to one knee Shade plunged his shikai into the ground and leaned on it. Its gnashing mouth faced the espada as Shade caught his breath. He would limit the use of flashbangs to when he needed rests. That seemed like a good strategy. Speaking of rest, it was about time for one. With a fluid movement the lieutenant dropped his hand down to the blade of his weapon and placed his finger against its edge. It didn’t take much pressure for the soul reaper to pierce his own flesh, and when he did, Shade was instantly filled with newfound energy. It was like he’d just slept for over twelve hours. Even with Rio’s low energy sensory he’d be able to feel Shade’s burst of reiatsu and any weariness he’d been showing was completely eradicated. Shade arguably had the most stamina of any shinigami in soul society, for as long as he was provided with blood, he could continue fighting. It was at this moment when Rio chose to launch the cero he’d been charging. This was bad, at this range a hit would mean the end for the lieutenant.

Whether it was the elapsed time or the burst of power was unclear, but Shade was now ready to fight again even though his hearing was still not 100%. A quick drop to the ground let the lieutenant avoid getting his arm torn off. It wasn’t the most elegant of dodges and it covered the shinigami’s robes in dirt, but it worked. Luckily the espada wasn’t aiming as good as he could due to his equilibrium being thrown off. Upon the dissipation of the cero, Shade stood up, glaring at the espada before breaking out into a dead sprint directly at him. Rio’s was likely in worse condition and he was determined to capitalize on his perceived advantage. Shade put his empty hand inside his cloak like last time and unsheathed his second sword with his other hand. Once again he charged at Rio slightly from the side so that Rio would brush by his right side assuming he ever made it that close. This was important because Shade’s right arm was the one holding Jisatsu Kasumi aka Night Slicer, the lieutenant’s cursed blade. Shade sprinted rapidly towards Rio who would hopefully by now have the composure to at least stand. The shinigami’s eyes remained open as he prepared to improvise based on what Rio would do in defense.

Shikai: 4 / 10
Reiatsu: 1,250

Calculations made off of this calculator
www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-distance.htm

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Rio could see that his opponent had basically faceplanted to narrowly avoid his Cero. His vision was pretty much okay now, and although his ears were still ringing he could make out what was going on around him. That just left his legs to make a full recovery. He reached to his hip withdrawing one of his Sai. The one on his right side. This meant that since Shade was coming in on the right, he'd be attacking Rio on his unarmed side. It appeared the shinigami had drawn a second sword to attack him with. Two sword style? Well, since Shade had no chance of overpowering Rio, sacrificing the power of a two handed swing, for multiple attacks wouldn't have been a bad idea.

Rio watched Shade charge him, testing his balance just a hair, not wanting to move into an unstable position if his balance had not fully recovered. The shinigami was angling to his right. That meant he was probably going to try and slash Rio with his longsword as he passed, and then keep moving negating the possibility of a counterattack. What folly! Rio began to move to his feet as Shade charged. His equilibrium was coming back to him now. He could aim properly.

Just before Shade would enter striking range with his blades, Rio opened his mouth and a beach ball sized bala exploded out of his mouth, aimed right at Shade's chest. At this range and with the size of the bala, it would be tricky to avoid and likely blast Shade back. Although it wouldn't kill him, it'd still hurt quite a bit and leave a few burns. Plus it'd give Rio more time to completely recover from the effects of Shade's flashbang. While it was true that Rio was now standing somewhat solidly, that ringing in his ears was still pissing him off.

Reiatsu remaining: 1700

[Shade Kawada]

Now that both warriors were ready to continue fighting, the combat commenced and Shade charged directly at Rio with his cursed blade in one hand and the other hand within the confines of his cloak like last time. His zanpakutou had been left where he’d stabbed it into the ground, its mouth still facing Rio exactly as planned. Shade had approached on the right side so that he wouldn’t be blocking Rio’s view of Buraindo Kira, not so that he could run past Rio as soon as he’d struck. There was no avoiding it this time. As soon as the glow of a bala appeared in the espada's mouth, Rio’s vision would go completely white, making an accurate shot would be impossible. No matter how fast it took to charge a bala, light was faster. What had caused this sudden blindness in the middle of the night? It was a special ability of Buraindo Kira’s to deliver blinding flashes of light that would leave one completely blind for three full seconds. However, this was the nighttime and that effect was made much worse since Rio’s pupils were dilated and he wasn’t expecting such a piercing light. It would take awhile for the Quinta to regain his night-accustomed eyes as well and with his hearing already in a bad spot, Rio was hurting. It was at this point that the soul reaper’s feet left the ground as to cease creating noise while leaping over the bala in case Rio got a lucky shot off. The lieutenant, who remained unaffected by the light because it hit his back, finished off his charge by using air-ground to fly directly at Rio.

There was still the issue of Rio’s shockwaves. Shade had seen them once and knew he couldn’t underestimate such force, which was why he’d come prepared. The hand from inside his cloak immediately came out to reveal a dagger, the second of Shade’s two cursed blades. The soul reaper threw the knife ahead of him directly at the espada’s torso. Because he’d already determined the range of the espada’s shockwaves based on when he was first hit by one, the lieutenant threw the dagger so that it would reach Rio before he entered the five foot radius. Since he was blind and partially deaf blocking was impossible, and his only defense remaining was surrounding himself with a shockwave and sending the knife flying backwards, however, this is exactly what the lieutenant had planned for. If he deflected the knife with a shockwave then that would leave Shade free to quickly get close to Rio and end the fight quickly. The winner of a sword fight between a partially deaf and blind Rio vs a partially deaf Shade was obvious.

The espada was doubly screwed if he let Shade get in close, for he was holding Jisatsu Kasumi, the Night Slicer. This blade was one that specialized in silent killing and delivered swings that were completely silent. It reflected no light and was practically invisible at night. It was a perfect pair for a zanpakutou like Buraindo Kira. Rio was better off taking the dagger to the gut or chest because it wouldn’t kill a beast like Rio. It would probably only wound him and drive him to release. Shade was amazing in terms of analyzing his opponents and determining their weaknesses as he was demonstrating right now. Rio’s defense was impressive, but not absolute. It took a genius like Shade to pick it apart and determine its strengths and weaknesses, and that was just what he did. Unfortunately even though he knew how to deal with the espada’s shockwaves, it was still a very annoying process get past them. Rio was certainly Quinta for good reason.

Shikai: 5 / 10
Reiatsu Remaining: 1,250

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Although the flash of light was successful, it did not prevent Rio from launching the bala directly at Shade's chest. And jumping wouldn't be enough. Rio had fired his Bala just as Shade had entered striking range. Effectively, that meant that Shade was within five feet of Rio or less, and as a result, just wouldn't be fast enough to dodge the Bala that was released not even a second after his flash of light. Shade's jump would prevent him getting hit square in the chest, but without a Shunpo he wasn't going to have the speed to avoid it entirely, and instead of his chest, the Bala was going to instead collide with a far more sensitive region, slamming and exploding in a powerful burst of reiatsu right into Shade's lower torso, upper legs and of course, his groin. Ouch. The attack was also going to interrupt Shade's attempt at an attack, blasting him backwards several feet and probably knocking himself.

As for Rio, being blinded resulted in the Espada simply vanishing. For Rio, who had experienced a millenia of battles, he had fought more than one foe who had managed to blind them, and suffered many wounds because of such foes. So when he was blinded, he made it a #1 priority to make some distance and re-evaluate his strategy. The only reason he had not done so with the Flashbang, was because he couldn't, due to his balance being affected. Even if Shade had somehow endured his attack and still managed to launch his own, he'd find that the Espada had vanished from sight with a sound like static. Rio had used Sonido to make some distance the instant he'd fired his Bala. In fact the only reason he hadn't used it instead of the Bala is that it had already been firing when Rio had been blinded.

Rio had used his Sonido to launch himself a good fifty meters away from Shade, onto the side of a hill. It was unlikely Shade would be able to give pursuit, due to the fact that... well... he'd had a Bala go off in his groin. Most people had a tendency to be unable to move from just being kicked there, having a bala hit it was bound to produce similar, if not worse effects. Shade was likely going to be down for a few seconds, as Rio's sight began to recover. Furthermore, Rio's hearing was back to normal by now, and he would now be fully be capable of hearing Shade's approach, and his sense of smell remained unbothered. Like that of a Canine, Rio would literally be able to smell Shade's approach. Assuming Shade came soon, as in addition to the immense pain he'd be feeling, he likely would have lost track of Rio after the Sonido. Maybe, with his high senses he could have found Rio after a second or two of scanning, but it was likely Shade would be a little preoccupied with other things at present.

But at present the Espada was pondering this new development. So, his zanpakuto attacks the senses? Like an eighth rate variant of Sonken's, huh? Hmph. Whatever. It won't work twice! Rio thought to himself, keeping his ears open and his nose alert. His sight would return soon, he expected, and when it did, he was going to show that Shinigami the meaning of pain. He knew a number of his tricks, and it was abundantly clear the shinigami didn't use kido. Essentially, as long as Rio watched out for those tricks, he'd be fine. This shinigami had done well at holding him at bay by attacking his senses, creating a second stalemate, but he was very quickly giving away his tricks, while he had only seen one of Rio's. And Shade had yet to witness Rio's greatest strength, even during his battle in the Seireitei.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1600

[Shade Kawada]

Unfortunately for Rio, he would emerge from his sonido with Zaigou Hari embedded in his chest. Blood would be pouring through his clothing and he would likely find that he was abnormally short of breath. This was because the cursed dagger had ruptured the espada’s left lung and left him breathing extra hard as his right lung was forced to work twice as hard. Why had this happened? What mistake had the Quinta made to land himself in this position? It was all in the timing that Rio had gone about doing things. Unfortunately for the espada there was not much he could have done. Shade had thrown his dagger so that it would reach Rio before he entered the espada’s five foot radius. Rio had fired his bala just as Shade entered striking range meaning that the espada’s counterattack would be launched after the blade had already hit him. There was no question that Zaigou Hari would taste the espada’s blood and make its home in the arrancar’s chest. Rio would find that this lieutenant was giving him, the fifth espada, a run for his money. How was it possible that a shinigami that he’d been able to bat aside so easily before had now risen to such a level so quickly?

Shade knew immediately that he needed to call his charge off as soon as he noticed his dagger hit its mark. He wasn’t about to bring the fight up close to Rio if he knew that the espada could use a shockwave at any moment. The first attack had hit, which meant that his followup was no longer necessary. Besides, there was the issue of the bala that Rio had been charging in his mouth. Shade wasn’t about to stay and make a target of himself in case Rio got off a lucky shot. He was blind, but it was still possible that Rio somehow aimed in the exact right direction. It turned out that the espada did as the shinigami feared. Immediately after being hit Rio launched his attack where he’d last seen the shinigami. It turned out that this was directly at the vice-captain’s leg since Shade had, in fact, jumped higher than Rio had anticipated. Regardless, with no plans on completing his charge anyway the soul reaper used a shunpo to bring himself back to his zanpakutou as he kept his eyes glued on Rio.

Shade had emerged from that confrontation unharmed and he’d successfully delivered quite a vicious blow to his opponent. It was true that Shade’s greatest weapon was his calculating mind and quick thinking. He was truly demonstrating the advantages it gave him in battle during this current fight. “You have no choice now espada...” thought the lieutenant “Release and give me the information I need to beat you next time we meet...” Shade was no fool. He knew he didn’t possess the power needed to finish off the espada in the case used his resurreccion. From the beginning this had always been about learning Rio’s fighting style, learning his abilities, and testing the countermeasures he’d invented from their first confrontation. The next time they met, Shade hoped that he would be adequately prepared as far as knowledge went. The lieutenant picked his shikai out of the ground with his right hand as he glared at the espada. He’d let the Quinta take note of his new injury and hopefully determine the best course of action to be releasing his powers.

Shikai: 6 / 10
Reiatsu Remaining: 1,200